Apocalypse Forecast

As he spoke, he reached out, grabbed Qi Wen's hair, and pulled him up. Examining the man's contorted and fierce face, he asked softly, "Tell me, were you laughing when my family was destroyed?"

Of course, Qi Wen wasn't laughing.

He glared at Huai Shi, breathing heavily, and spat blood-stained saliva at him, which landed on his face. But Huai Shi remained calm, as if he couldn't feel anger at all.

"Come to think of it, I should have congratulated you first," he said. "Remember you said that after tomorrow's bid opening, you'd control Penghu's shipping routes, achieve a turnaround, become your own master, and no longer be anyone's dog."

Huai Shi said earnestly, "Congratulations, Mr. Qi, your dream is about to come true."

"You son of a bitch... I should have killed you back then, you wretched survivor!" Qi Wen glared at him and cursed hoarsely, "You and your parents are all good-for-nothing failures who only cause trouble! I really should have buried you with them! Torn you all to pieces!"

"Why aren't you smiling, Mr. Qi?" Huai Shi asked in confusion. "Isn't fulfilling a dream something to be happy about?"

Qi Wen said nothing more, just stared at him furiously, his bloodshot eyes filled with malice.

Disappointed, Huai Shi let go of him, took out a couple of tissues, and wiped the saliva from his face.

"I've always had a goal," he murmured softly. "I wanted to lead a wholesome life, study hard, get into university, become a musician, support my parents who weren't kind to me, marry a woman who loved me, teach our children diligently, live a respected life, and die peacefully surrounded by my family. If I had to name a dream, that would probably be it."

As he said this, he shrugged helplessly and spread his hands. "Look, a cheap, second-hand old instrument, two family members who didn't love me, an old house... that was all I owned."

"But now, I have no family left."

Rain continuously dripped from his damp hair, mixing with blood, turning it a turbid red. It left endless, twisting trails on his face that couldn't be wiped away.

"Mr. Qi—" Huai Shi said, "I have lost my dream. I feel great Sorrow."

Qi Wen bared his teeth in a malicious grin and opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly, a booming noise erupted from the car.

Gunsmoke slowly curled up from Huai Shi's pistol. A bullet had pierced Qi Wen's lips, exited through his cheek, and embedded itself in the dashboard of the driver's seat.

Blood spurted out.

"Please don't speak." Huai Shi looked up at him and said with sincere gratitude, "Thank you for listening to me for so long. I feel much better now. Now, we should finish what we started."

Qi Wen's expression contorted.

In the young man's hand, the gun barrel rose slowly, aiming at his face, reflecting the path to Hell in those trembling pupils.

Huai Shi pulled the trigger.

CLICK!

An embarrassingly faint sound came from the gun; it was out of bullets.

"Sorry, this is my first time taking revenge, so I'm not very experienced. Please wait a moment."

Huai Shi fumbled in his pocket for more bullets and frantically tried to remove the magazine, but it seemed jammed. No matter how he pressed the release button, it wouldn't budge.

Death seemed close at hand, yet it lingered nearby, quietly appreciating this rare dark comedy.

Amidst the faint sounds, a cello theme began to play as Huai Shi's phone vibrated. He didn't answer, and it kept ringing, as if determined to ring until the end of time.

Until Huai Shi, annoyed, finally answered the phone.

"Hello? Who is this?" he asked. "Make it quick, I'm busy right now..."

"It's Ai Qing." A familiar voice came from the phone.

"Hmm? What's up?" Huai Shi cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear, still focused on the jammed magazine. "By the way, how do you reload this gun they gave me? I've been struggling with it for a while. Online, waiting, urgent."

Ai Qing fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Where are you now?"

"I'm at home. The rain is so loud, and I'm scared and lonely. All I have is this handgun for warmth. Ah, saying it like that sounds kind of gay, but I really can't get this magazine open."

A sigh echoed through the phone.

"Don't bother, there's a safety lock on the gun," her voice turned cold. "And surveillance cameras tell me you're not at home, Huai Shi. You're on the Jin Sea Highway overpass, sitting in front of a dying man, about to blow his head off with a bullet."

"Hmm?" Huai Shi paused, subconsciously glancing at a nearby camera. "Sorry, the signal's bad. What did you say?"

"Listen to me, Huai Shi. If you kill him here, you'll only incur Punishment. Neither the Astronomical Society nor the Special Affairs Department will tolerate it. Put down the gun. Trust me, one day, this matter will reach a conclusion that satisfies everyone."

"So, will they kill him?" Huai Shi countered. "Firing squad or hanging? The electric chair would also work. Or, more humanely, lethal injection?"

"..." Ai Qing said nothing.

"I'm only seventeen, Ai Qing. Don't talk to me about things I don't understand." Huai Shi grinned and sighed helplessly. "Besides, receiving Punishment doesn't really matter to me. Going to jail is fine too."