Apocalypse Forecast

In an instant, the wind howled.

The pitch-black sea surface rushed forward.

In the endless darkness, Huai Shi stretched out his arms, feeling the wind against his face. The black sea, as smooth as marble, almost reflected his eyes that were slowly turning a crimson red.

He was like a black bird, briefly soaring between the black sky and the black ocean.

In the darkness, it was hard to distinguish one from the other.

It was just like a young black man from Equatorial Guinea studying the cultivation of black fungus late at night...

For some reason, this odd thought suddenly crossed Huai Shi's mind.

Then he began to fall, downwards, towards the sea surface. He tucked in his limbs, bracing for the impending impact.

And just as the fall was about to end, a roaring thunder erupted from the silence.

Taking advantage of the gravitational acceleration and inertia from the brief fall, Huai Shi collided with the altered surface of the sea, like a rubber ball smashing against a pane of glass.

In a flash, the Vampire's Mark activated.

His weight instantly decreased by a third. Yet, the force that burst forth was superior to his regular strength. He trod upon the shattered sea surface and, astonishingly, leapt forward!

He ran wildly!

It is said that if an adult wishes to run on water, they must reach a speed of over 110 kilometers per hour and possess over fifteen times the muscular strength of an average person to keep their body afloat by the force of the water surface upon contact.

Huai Shi couldn't measure his current speed, nor could he tell how much Van Essen's power surpassed that of an ordinary person. Yet, the vampire's extraordinary physique and speed enabled him to achieve this incredible miracle.

Just like a stone skimming on water.

The vampire, abandoning his weight, spread his arms and trod lightly and swiftly on the sea surface, leaving behind a trail of shattered water, stamping upon the bursting ripples, hurtling forward.

As if dancing on the crests of waves.

At this moment, aside from an indescribable excitement, there was also a hint of relief in my heart—I knew that in legends, save for a few stagnant ponds, vampires couldn't cross any body of active water, let alone the sea. If I had been a pure vampire from the Wallachia Lineage, I would have sunk the moment I hit the water and then been thoroughly dissolved by the sea, much like gastric acid.

But now, he was running wildly, forward, instantly catching up with the steel cruise ship's speed and even passing most of its length, from the passenger area at the stern to near the public area at the front.

Thanks to the passengers' commotion and the ship's good sound insulation, the thunderous noise of Huai Shi treading water attracted no attention. Under the cover of darkness, probably no one would notice a vampire speeding by.

With a powerful leap, his arms seized the protruding porthole on the outside of the cruise ship.

In just twelve short seconds, he felt as if he'd run a marathon. He couldn't help but gasp for air. Seeing the signs of seawater corrosion on his shoes, he felt a shiver of lingering fear.

That was like walking a tightrope over an Abyss; one misstep, and there would have been no room for regret. Luckily, the hardest part is over. Next is to find Hela, who was thrown into the kitchen.

Perhaps attracted by the noise of Huai Shi's collision, the Dog-headed Man, who was taking advantage of the emptiness to unbuckle his belt and relieve himself in the corner of the corridor outside the kitchen, looked up, puzzled, towards the porthole.

Outside the window was still pitch black, empty.

He curiously glanced twice and then turned away, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket, continuing to struggle to emulate a passionate tone, rehearsing his lines, "I declare, in the name of the Dark Race, you are sentenced to death!"

After finishing, he felt something was off; the last word needed more emphasis. So he coughed twice and began to practice again. However, the continuous tapping sound from the direction of the window, like a bird pecking glass, prevented him from concentrating.

He scratched the sparse fur on his dog head irritably and stepped forward to drive away the pesky bird. But when he approached the window, he saw nothing.

In the pitch black, suddenly two crimson lights lit up.

Was that a... face?

The next moment, the glass shattered. A palm suddenly reached in from the outside, clenching his throat like iron tongs, then yanked him out fiercely.

In an instant, he was involuntarily pulled out of the window.

"You practiced well, but unfortunately, you lack the talent of an actor," Huai Shi complimented at last. "Goodbye."

Then, he let go.

Amidst the panicked screaming, the Dog-headed Man fell into the sea and was instantly swallowed by the darkness.

While Huai Shi, as if boneless, deftly wriggled through the narrow porthole and landed in the corridor.

All was silent, as if no one had noticed what happened here.

Good. Next up is the best friend of any stealth game—time for the ventilation ducts to shine!

With his extraordinary vampire agility, which even Huai Shi himself found impressive, he quietly made his way above the kitchen without much effort.

To his surprise, Hela wasn't locked in any sort of cage.

After being tied up and watched over by two men, she sat listlessly on the chair, head drooping powerlessly, waiting for the coming trial.

The two men, carelessly smoking cigarettes, spoke in a thick Roman dialect. From time to time, they surveyed Hela's figure with a kind of lecherous gaze that seemed universally understood.

Only two people. Good, that saves me a lot of trouble...

Huai Shi lay in the ventilation duct, looking down through the grill at the two men below. Whether it was due to a successful investigation or his sharp vision, he could clearly make out the appearance and build of both individuals.

One had a tall and thin figure with wrinkles on his face that resembled wood grain, a prominent feature, likely indicating he had Stigmata related to Tree Spirits.

The other, shorter in stature, had a noticeable keratin layer behind his ears. Scales were faintly visible on his exposed hands and neck, and there was a subtle bulge on his forehead, resembling horns.

It wasn't clear whether he was more lizard or bull, but he certainly bore a beast-type Stigmata—typical of those with high defense and thick blood. Poison will be needed for a quick kill...

Soon, Huai Shi realized something was off when the man spat on the ground. His saliva, seemingly carrying a potent toxin, corroded the steel plate with a HISSING noise.

Huai Shi wiped off a cold sweat. Toxic saliva, a head larger than average, and those sunglasses... I almost made a mistake.

Despite having many lizard-like characteristics and bull-like horns, appearing tough and resilient like a brute, this guy likely possesses Stigmata from the 'Snake Man' line.

If I'm not mistaken, it should be a Third Stage Stigmata originating from Greece—Cato Blepas. One of Medusa's offspring, inheriting her ability to kill with a gaze.

Although the rumors are probably exaggerated, if this man glared at someone, they'd likely be struck by a fierce poison, right? After all, abilities that operate through gaze are generally quite tricky and must be handled properly...

Only two of them. I'm rather fortunate.

Having completed his observation, Huai Shi took a deep breath, slowly pulling out his weapons, carefully coating them with Sword Oil and poison using a cotton swab.

Now is the time to test the extent of the strength and skills Van Essen, the dark assassin, possesses.

He took another deep breath.

He couldn't feel his heart beating inside his chest.

His body temperature plummeted rapidly, until at last, it turned as cold as iron stone. Behind the mask, his face paled to a bloodless white, only his red pupils growing colder.

He merged into the darkness.

In the silence, only the slender test tube whirled swiftly between Huai Shi's fingers, silently shaking. The concentrated ink color suspended in the viscous Potion gradually diffused, turning the entire liquid in the test tube into a viscous, undifferentiated ink.

At that instant, Huai Shi closed his eyes.

Within the kitchen, everyone heard a sharp noise.

It was the sound of the ventilation duct's outlet shattering under the slash of a blade, fleeting. Then, from the crack overhead, a figure burst out.

In the moment the two men turned their heads, they only saw the figure in midair throw the test tube in their direction. The tube shattered at their feet, spewing thick, ink-like contents that swelled rapidly upon contact with the air, forming dense smoke that billowed and engulfed everything.

Darkness struck.

By the time Huai Shi landed, he had already driven the dagger in his hand through the tall, thin Tree Spirit's skull, piercing into the brain, with the tip protruding from the man's chin.

In the choking dark fog, the Snake Man with sunglasses instinctively tried to scream. But then he felt the wind hit as a palm lifted from below and shoved forcefully against his gaping jaw, power erupting.

His wide-open mouth snapped shut, swallowing the panicked cry, and then he spat out half of his tongue, bitten off.

Before blood and the severed tongue hit the floor, Huai Shi's left hand had already drawn a Flying Knife from his back, nailing it directly into the Snake Man's right shoulder. With his understanding of human anatomy and a killing technique so practiced it was terrifying, he lodged the fragile blade into the gap of the shoulder blade.

His right hand, which had originally been pushing the Snake Man's chin, now drew a dagger from behind his neck. The blade traced an arc over Huai Shi's own head and swept horizontally across the Snake Man's eye sockets.

Two sounds of breaking overlapped into a single, crisp CRACK.

Behind the shattered sunglasses, the ruptured eyeballs, now unable to unleash a deadly poisonous gaze, bled, blind to all.

In panic, the Snake Man tried to retreat, swinging his remaining left hand in an effort to dispel the invisible Ghost haunting him. However, he immediately felt a chill in his chest.

As the dagger fulfilled its purpose, Huai Shi casually tossed it into the air. He then drew a Short Knife from his waist and stabbed forward—accompanied by a dull thud, it pierced the heart in its torso, causing blood to gush.

Huai Shi released his grip on the Short Knife. Relying on kinesthetic sense, he caught the falling dagger and, with a backhand strike, drove it into the Snake Man's throat, completely silencing him.

Turning around, he looked towards the other Tree Spirit.

Stigmata of the plant variety usually possessed terrifying vitality. Even with his brain impaled, the Tree Spirit retained a trace of consciousness. Struggling to understand what was happening, he dazedly fumbled at his head, clutching the handle embedded there in confusion.

He had no idea what had happened.

Soon, he won't have to think anymore.

Huai Shi removed the Axe from his back, raised his hand, and swung it with all his might.

BANG!

The black smoke billowed out in an instant, only to dissipate just as quickly.

When the curtain was drawn aside, what was revealed was not a delicate set, but a savage scene drenched in blood.