Apocalypse Forecast

For some reason, Yuan Zhao had no appetite at dinner. His face was pale, and he sat fidgeting restlessly in his chair.

"Eat, why aren't you eating?"

Huai Shi picked up a spoon and filled a bowl to the brim with porridge for him. The white porridge, simmered until sweet and fragrant, contained two radishes carved into human faces and vegetable leaves resembling internal organs, emitting an appetizing aroma.

Besides the vegetable porridge, Huai Shi had also asked the old man for advice on deep-frying some Tempura and then made two servings of buckwheat noodles.

The old man was their only company for dinner.

Ma Yi had apparently taken a meal upstairs to her grandfather.

As for Ma Yi's parents, the old man simply said they had gone out to work and didn't elaborate.

After dinner, the old man led them to a room on the second floor. Ma Yi had cleaned it beforehand, but it still smelled faintly of dust.

The old man pointed to a soft bed and said to Huai Shi, "This is yours."

Then he gestured to old bedding haphazardly thrown on the floor and said to Yuan Zhao, "This is yours."

Fine... Differential treatment, Yuan Zhao thought, already accustomed to it.

In fact, just having survived a meal from this family's kitchen was enough to leave him feeling more than satisfied—no, completely numb.

Once the door closed, he collapsed onto his bedding, motionless, looking utterly spent.

In the stillness, the only sounds came from across the hall: the raspy breathing of the bedridden grandfather, like a broken bellows, mixed with hoarse coughing. Occasionally, they heard him catch his breath to eat something.

The sound of bones crunching was distinct; the old grandfather still had rather good teeth.

After finishing two servings, he began to wheeze and shout again.

"Hungry, I'm hungry... Huieko, I'm so hungry..."

"You annoying old man! We have guests! How much more shame do you intend to bring upon our family before you stop?!" the old woman scolded irritably. Soon, amidst heavy footsteps, the sound of a sloshing bucket seemed to move into the opposite room, followed by a slurping, gurgling noise.

He seemed to be eating quite heartily.

Huai Shi hadn't expected the large pot of porridge he'd made to be completely finished. If it wouldn't have been too presumptuous, he would have liked to knock on the door and ask if the old man wanted some side dishes with his porridge.

Anyway, as long as the old man was happy, that was all that mattered.

Carrying a pink towel and the toiletries a blushing Ma Yi had brought him, Huai Shi brushed his teeth and took a good, long soak in the bath, feeling his fatigue melt away.

Although the serious injury to his chest was still giving him some trouble, the vegetable porridge and various dishes at dinner seemed to be rare delicacies made with precious ingredients. After two bowls, Huai Shi distinctly felt his recovery speed increase.

Perhaps I'll be completely healed by tomorrow morning, right? How fortunate.

"Why do you still look half-dead?" Huai Shi asked, drying his hair and looking down at Yuan Zhao, who was groaning on the floor. "It's just for one night. What are you being so dramatic about? Ah, you've never stayed at a friend's house before, have you?"

This Little Brag is so delusional, he probably doesn't even have any friends. How pathetic.

Huai Shi's pitying gaze provoked even the weakened Yuan Zhao. He scrambled up from his bedding and kicked irritably at Huai Shi. "They... they... do you even know what they are?"

"Does it make a difference whether I know or not?" Huai Shi glanced at him askance. "What's the point of asking so many questions? They hosted us for dinner and gave us a place to stay. You Little Brag, you don't have a shred of gratitude, do you!"

Gratitude my ass!

Yuan Zhao felt like he was being driven mad by Huai Shi's nonchalant attitude. If that family of Demons and monsters hadn't yet shown any intention of harming them, Yuan Zhao would have already fled in terror.

Then, recalling something, his gaze toward Huai Shi turned exceptionally strange.

During dinner, that old hag had seemed particularly eager to serve Huai Shi, constantly piling food onto his plate. Occasionally, she'd look at Yuan Zhao as if he were a juicy, live steak—her gaze indifferent yet tinged with hunger and scrutiny.

As if she were evaluating where the tastiest cuts were...

A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind: Are the two of us being fattened up by this family of Demons and monsters, only to be slaughtered and eaten later?!

The more he thought about it, the more panicked he became. He lowered his voice and whispered to Huai Shi, "Don't you find this place too creepy?"

Huai Shi shrugged indifferently. "To ordinary people, Sublimators are also quite creepy. Besides, is there anything in Hell that *isn't* creepy?"

He casually flung his bedding aside and lay down on the soft bed, inhaling the faint scent of dust and age. The dim light highlighted water stains on the wall that resembled grinning faces; they looked rather charming.

Ah, this feeling... Yes, it's just like still being at Stone Marrow Pavilion. Utterly comforting.

"Alright, let's get some sleep." He casually pulled the lamp's switch, covered himself with the blanket, and added a final instruction, "The competition starts again tomorrow morning. We need to conserve our strength..."

Conserve strength my ass! More like you're being fattened up, ready to be slaughtered once you've gained enough weight! That youngest Demon girl was eyeing you with such hunger, as if she'd gladly devour you whole. Maybe her appetite will be even bigger then, and she'll eat a couple of extra pounds!

Yuan Zhao lay on his bedding, his mind racing, unable to sleep.

Time ticked by, and the night grew deeper.

As Huai Shi's snores grew louder, Yuan Zhao felt increasingly anxious.

This is so screwed! With that White-named face acting like this, he seems completely enchanted! He's like those cartoon characters who eat too much and turn into pigs... He loves it here so much, he probably wouldn't leave even if we tried to make him.

Yuan Zhao randomly opened his mission panel and noticed that the 'Encounter the Devil' task had disappeared at some point. He wasn't sure if it had been completed or had utterly failed.

There was only a blank space, as if waiting for a new task to be triggered... But Yuan Zhao was utterly clueless.

Soon, in the silence, another sound joined the old man's coughing from outside: faint footsteps, slow and soft.

Treading on the old floorboards, they produced faint, creaking sounds.

Getting closer... bit by bit...

Yuan Zhao's eyes widened, the hairs on his neck standing on end as the chilling sounds drew nearer. A cold dread crept into his heart.

They're going to eat people!

Yuan Zhao quietly got up, his eyes wide with alarm. Through the narrow sliver of light under the door, he saw a pair of shoes standing at the entrance. He had no idea how long they'd been there.

Suppressing the urge to scream, he clapped a hand over his mouth and reached out, desperately trying to shake Huai Shi awake.

But Huai Shi was dead to the world, snoring away, impossible to rouse. Annoyed by the shaking, Huai Shi casually swatted a hand, his fingers closing around Yuan Zhao's wrist. With an inward push, Yuan Zhao found himself involuntarily collapsing onto his floor mat.

Huai Shi merely turned over and continued to sleep, even more soundly than before.

In the silence, the thud of Yuan Zhao hitting the floor was terrifyingly loud. It chilled him to the bone, and he felt an urge to cry but no tears came, only a profound despair...

Then, a soft knock sounded at the door.

"Mr. Huai Shi... Mr. Huai Shi... are you asleep?"

The gentle voice outside the door sounded utterly sinister, as if its owner was waiting for them to fall sound asleep before coming in to feast like a Gluttony. Yuan Zhao clapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes wide as he stared at the door.

But in the end, no hideous female ghost burst in to devour him. After waiting a long time without a response, the person at the door slipped away noiselessly.

In the quiet, only the gentle pitter-patter of rain against the window could be heard.

Yuan Zhao held his breath, trembling with fear as he watched the door. Only after a very long time did he finally exhale in relief, his body drenched in a cold sweat, feeling as though he had narrowly escaped the brink of death.

But one foot still felt like it was dangling over the abyss.

No, I can't just sit here and wait for death! I must escape from this Hell! Now, it's up to me, Young Master Yuan, to turn the tide!

He mustered his courage and surveyed his surroundings, searching for an escape route. But as he turned to look at the curtained window, he froze.

He felt as if he'd been plunged into an icy abyss.

Sometime, somehow, a faint silhouette had appeared outside the window, standing motionless. Though its features were unclear through the curtain, the shadow raised a hand and began to tap persistently on the glass.

Gently.

Tap... tap... tap... Each one seemed determined to continue until the end of time, hammering at Yuan Zhao's heart, almost driving him to scream.

His newfound courage instantly evaporated.

He burrowed deep under his blankets, shivering uncontrollably.

Hell is so terrifying. I want to go home... Cousin, save me...

"Yuan Zhao? Yuan Zhao, are you in there?"

As if in answer to his prayer, through a hazy stupor, Yuan Zhao heard Sister Mo San's voice—so familiar—coming from outside the window. "We've come to save you! Yuan Zhao, can you hear me? Quickly open the window... Any later, and you'll be eaten by the monster hidden in here..."

Yes, I must open the window. I have to escape... Otherwise, I'm just a sitting duck.

BANG!

In bed, Huai Shi turned over in his deep slumber. His arm knocked the gun propped beside the bed onto the floor with a dull THUD, startling the dazed Yuan Zhao fully awake.

He nearly collapsed on the floor in terror.

Only then did he realize he had unwittingly gotten out of bed and was standing in front of the window, his hand pinching the curtain, about to pull it aside...

He clapped a hand over his mouth, retreated warily, and huddled under his blankets, plugging his ears, no longer daring to listen to the calls from outside.

After a very, very long time, drifting in and out of consciousness, Yuan Zhao finally couldn't hear the tapping on the window anymore.

Behind the curtain, the space outside the window was empty, the strange shadow from before gone...

Yuan Zhao finally breathed a sigh of relief, his whole body going limp. His earlier courage had vanished. It's impossible to escape, he thought. I'll never escape in this lifetime. It's too terrifying out there. I might as well stay here and let them eat me...

Dejectedly, he climbed out from under his bedding, wiped his face, and glanced subconsciously behind the curtain.

Outside the window, there was nothing but emptiness.

Has that ghostly thing... really left?

He took a deep breath and cautiously approached the window, gingerly pinching the curtain.

I'll just take one look, just one look... he told himself.

Then, he pulled back a corner of the curtain for a peek.

He saw an eye, wide and bloodshot, glinting with malicious delight.

"You're looking at me, aren't you?"

The face outside the window, resembling that of a Strange Bird, curled into a ferocious grin.