Apocalypse Forecast

BANG! BANG! BANG!

It was like champagne bottles shattering on cobblestone. Droplets of rain on the gun's barrel vibrated, scattered, and hung mid-air.

In the nearly frozen time, smoke wafted from the gun's gas port, carrying with it tiny sparks. In an instant, the frictional sound turned into a low rumble.

Bullets spun in the barrel, guided by the rifling and igniting sparks. Three red-hot bullets flew from the muzzle, tearing through the air and shattering the solid curtain of rain.

The burning light reflected in those broken raindrops, casting unseen prismatic flashes in that fleeting moment.

Then, the flashes were torn to shreds by the deafening roar of the gun, along with the rain.

After traveling a vast distance, the metallic intent to kill whistled through the air. It broke the convoy's lead vehicle's front window and buried itself in an unfamiliar face in the passenger seat.

Blood splattered.

The blast echoed.

Huai Shi stood his ground, peering through the gun's sight at the shattered front window, and pulled the trigger again. The gunstock recoiled against his shoulder, startling water droplets on his raincoat into flight, blending into the fragmented mist.

Ear-piercing screeches of brakes emanated from afar. The leading vehicle seemed to skid, zigzagging through the rain and kicking up a spray of water.

Eventually, it suddenly lost its balance, flipped over, slid, and came to rest, bottom up, motionless. In the rising dense smoke, only a few wheels kept turning slowly on their own. They detached from the axles, hit the ground, and rolled away.

The sound of gunfire endured, as incessant as the rain.

Until a bullet completely blew up the gas tank. Thick flames burst forth from the vehicle's frame and soared into the sky. It was like igniting a bonfire amid the thick fog, radiating a frenzied light.

This illuminated the silhouette standing on the overpass.

In the distance, the flow of traffic came to an abrupt halt. Only the sound of sharp horns and cars reversing was audible. The overpass seemed to have been snatched from the city by the torrential rain and fog, becoming lonely and silent.

Huai Shi stood still. He dropped the magazine to the ground, pulled out a fresh one from beneath his raincoat, inserted it, and stepped forward.

Behind the overturned car, the advancing convoy ground to a halt.

The cars at the back began reversing swiftly. Meanwhile, the lead vehicle abruptly turned sideways. Its windows rolled down, and bodyguards inside the car drew their guns to return fire.

They jumped out one by one, then fell one by one.

Huai Shi stood behind the burning vehicle's frame, removed the empty magazine, and fumbled inside his raincoat. Finding the handle, he opened the cover and pressed down.

Silence.

He hesitated for a moment, looked down, and pressed again.

Then, from afar came the blissful roar.

Amidst the loud noise, the plastic explosives stuck to the bridge's body detonated violently. The flashing fire engulfed everything. Large chunks of shattered stone and fragments of the bridge fell from the overpass, plunged into the swirling river below, splashed, and vanished.

The swiftly reversing convoy came to an abrupt stop, hanging on the edge of the precipice.

So close. Huai Shi clicked his tongue. He tossed the handle away, pulled out another magazine, strode over the flames flowing on the ground, and slowly walked towards them.

As the blast wave from the explosion dispersed, the accumulated rain once again fell from the sky onto the mortal world.

It enveloped everything.

It swallowed that slender shadow.

「. . .」

In the midst of violent shaking, Qi Wen awoke from his stupor and was nearly flung from his seat.

He braced himself on the back of the seat in front of him, looking bewildered at He Luo in the driver's seat, "What happened?"

"We're under attack, Boss. Don't move."

He Luo, in the driver's seat, let go of the steering wheel and picked up the walkie-talkie. "Is Zero secure? Are Cars 2, 3, and 4 all there?"

In the sound of static, voices kept responding,

interspersed with the roaring of gunfire.

The dense downpour flung endless droplets, as if devouring everything. It blurred all visibility, leaving only the continuous gunfire, screams, and explosions audible through the walkie-talkie.

Until at last, heavy footsteps emerged from the gunfire.

SLAP! SLAP! CRACKLE...

Someone seemed to be curiously fiddling with the other end of the walkie-talkie. They slapped it hard twice to shake off the water inside, then brought it close to their mouth and called out curiously, "Hello—?"

"Is Mr. Qi there?"

No one responded.

"Damn, could I have gotten the wrong person? No, that can't be right."

The voice on the other end coughed awkwardly twice. "Let me introduce myself. I'm from Huahai Road's little... PTUI! PTUI! PTUI! Got carried away there. Actually, I'm Huai Shi. I wonder if you know me, Mr. Qi?"

Qi Wen remained silent, just listening to the voice through the walkie-talkie.

His expression was ashen.

"Ah, well, it doesn't matter if you don't recognize me." A sigh came from the other end. "My parents have been in your care for many years. Are they still alive?"

Still, no one replied.

So, there came a regretful sigh.

"...Is that so? Then there's nothing to be done."

BANG!

Gunshots came from the other end of the walkie-talkie, followed by two more, plunging the conversation into complete silence.

There was the sound of shell casings hitting the ground, then the faint noise of reloading. Soon after, it seemed another car exploded in the distance.

Briefly illuminated by the blast, a gaunt figure appeared.

The transparent raincoat fluttered in the blast wave, rustling, like the ethereal hem of a departing Soul.

He Luo's expression grew grave as he unbuckled his seatbelt and shrugged his shoulders, loosening his muscles. Soon, with the undulation of his skin, layers of dark green scales emerged from underneath. Inch by inch, they covered his hands and face, transforming him back into a burly Naga.

He took a Double-Barreled Shotgun and four Curved Knives from the toolbox, ready to stand and face the enemy. However, Qi Wen, who was behind him, pressed down on his shoulder.

"Watch out for him drawing the tiger away from the mountain..."

The old man's face was livid, his expression continually twisting and showing ferocity. "I had anticipated competitors might attack, but I never expected it would be the sole surviving seed of the Huai Family. Good! Let's just send his whole family to a reunion today!"

Saying this, he picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"How much longer will you be?" he asked coldly. "Are you scared of even a Little Brag?"

"Mr. Qi, taking a detour also takes time," sighed the man on the phone. "We almost got blasted into the river, understand? Who told us Dongxia was a peaceful country? It's bad enough that explosives are scattered everywhere, but why is even a kid this insane?"

Qi Wen said coldly, "Maybe he's a Sublimator. Don't underestimate him."

"Don't worry, this isn't a head-to-head fight."

The middle-aged man on the phone laughed. "Warfare, that's our specialty."

In that instant, the roaring sound of an SUV's engine rose from the other side of the overpass entrance, charging through, tearing through the rain curtain, and howling past.

On the slowly opening sunroof, something gradually rose. It was covered with a dust cloth, but its fierce shape was unmistakable. As the camouflage was torn away, the machine gun hidden beneath revealed its steel reflection.

Then, countless incandescent shell casings flew into the storm from the violently trembling gun body.

The wildly spinning machine gun belched out the Whip of Thunderfire, sweeping across.