Apocalypse Forecast

"What the hell is this!"

Huai Shi jumped in fright. Ripping open his torn collar, he touched his chest in horror.

In the very center of his chest, an opening about the size of a coffee mug had appeared at some point. Yet bizarrely, through that gap, he couldn't see any of his internal organs.

He could only see darkness.

It was as if it were a crack leading to the Abyss.

He mustered the courage to reach in and feel around. It felt as if he were touching the inside of his own body, yet he couldn't sense any organs or bones.

He seemed to have become hollow.

That layer of darkness was as cold as liquid ammonia. It had a chilling, dense, material sensation and filled every corner behind the fissure.

"Here, have a drink to calm your nerves."

The person beside him handed over a cup of cola, still fizzing and cold, with a straw thoughtfully inserted.

"Oh, thanks." Huai Shi took a few sips subconsciously before he realized and glared at the Raven, which had reverted to its bird form at some unknown time. "You did this!"

"Didn't you agree to it already?"

The Raven looked at him innocently, "I asked if you were a match for the key. You said, 'I am! I am!' So I gave it to you... Besides, you need to get used to your Stigma. How else are you supposed to live?"

"Stigma?"

Huai Shi was startled, pointing at the large hole in his chest. "This brainless cavity—this is the Stigma you told me about?"

"Yep."

The Raven spread its wings, proudly explaining, "The Abyss Genealogy's First Stage Stigma: The V2.0 Enhanced Power Version of the Golden Collection of Yin Soul!"

"What 'Abyss,' what 'Yin Soul,' what 'Golden Collection'?"

Huai Shi was confused by the explanation, and it took him a long while to digest it. "Which country's Genealogy is the Abyss Genealogy? Yin Soul? Isn't that just a ghost?"

"Exactly. That's why I waited for you to be thoroughly chilled before acting. Otherwise, why would I have fed you so much poison?"

The Raven looked at him with a worried expression, as if it were extremely troubling that he didn't understand such a basic principle. How could she rest assured letting him wander the martial world like this?

Huai Shi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then grabbed her, summoned his Axe, and held it against her neck. "I'll give you one more chance to rephrase. What exactly is this thing?"

"Um..." The Raven's eyes darted around. "It's a long story."

"Then make it short!"

"Simply put, it's a Stigma specialized for border survival and Abyss exploration. It draws from the most widely known ghostly legends and classical structures and was specially customized for your avatar. It's a perfect match for you!"

"Perfect in what way?" Huai Shi glared at her.

"Look, weren't you a Negative Energy Producer before?"

The Raven raised a wing and comically gestured a number. "Now there are two!"

Huai Shi replied in frustration, "How is that any different from before!"

"But your power output has increased! Don't you get it? It's like trading a peashooter for a cannon—how can it be the same? You've jumped straight from a black-and-white screen to a smartphone. What more do you want? To ascend to heaven?

"Sis worked tirelessly for so long to get this Stigma ready for you. I went through all that trouble to save your sorry life, and you don't even say thanks after getting it? Has a dog eaten your conscience?"

She glared at Huai Shi, who felt a little guilty and lowered his head. Then he quickly realized she was messing with him again—her breath even reeked of pizza!

Was he just her guinea pig?

"Forget it, I forgive you. After all, life's not easy for any of us."

While Huai Shi was still stunned, she leaped out of his mouth and magnanimously flapped her wings. "Apologize, and we'll call it even."

Apologize my ass!

Huai Shi rolled his eyes and checked the big hole in his chest again, feeling like something extraordinary might crawl out of it.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen."

The Raven tossed over a thick booklet. "Here, this is the user manual and your upcoming plan. Although it's not on the list of publicly known Genealogies, Yin Soul is my masterpiece. Setting other things aside, I can absolutely guarantee its versatility.

"Unlike some fringe Stigmata that may only have one progression path and a higher-order Stigma, or just one road from the start, which might even be broken midway. Even the better ones only offer two or three paths, allowing for shifts within the same Genealogy at most.

"But Yin Soul's corresponding Domain is definitely one of the broadest—even broader than that of the Believer, which is quite a lackluster and useless blank slate. Whether domestically or internationally, you can advance any negative-attribute Stigma from any Genealogy through it. The direction you want to develop in doesn't matter..."

Huai Shi had a realization. Isn't that basically a universal adapter?

"Can't I ever hear anything nice come out of your mouth?" The Raven rolled her eyes at him. "This is when you should be thanking me for my great kindness. You'd best kneel down and kowtow a few times, then cry out that you want to be my devoted follower for life, right?"

Huai Shi ignored her.

He roughly understood what she meant.

Just in terms of versatility, Yin Soul could be considered priceless.

After all, although they were all Stigmata, sometimes the differences between various Stigmata Genealogies were as vast as those between zebras and monkeys. Unless you were ruthless enough to sever a branch that had fused with your very Soul—and pay an enormous price—success was unlikely.

Not all Giants were the same; a Hundred-Eyed Giant and a Titan Giant were completely different species. Similarly, for immortal birds, one type of Phoenix was completely different from another.

Not to mention cross-Genealogy progression, even the cost of switching paths within the same Genealogy was frighteningly high. Such changes were typically only for the desperate. The Great Genealogies never needed to consider such problems.

When there's a clear path to heaven, who would bother looking for a dead end halfway?

Having extensive resources and a large organization was just that convenient.

For example, the Dongxia Genealogy, one of the Genealogies currently recognized as having the richest heritage, could be further divided into several branch Genealogies. There were currently more than fourteen complete advancement paths openly available.

They had paths for fighters, defenders, support roles, and logistics.

In other words, as long as you joined, and had enough talent, ability, and potential, the organization would arrange everything for you clearly from the First Stage to the Fifth Stage.

With fourteen different advancement paths, there was always one that suited you.

This was the cohesion and gravitational pull that only the Great Genealogies possessed. Some smaller Genealogies didn't even have complete advancement paths. With only a handful of members, they could forget about specialized Hell exploration and research to complete their Genealogy. Without money, territory, or personnel, it was just a pipe dream.

Most unaffiliated individuals, or 'wild cards,' lacking organizational support, probably had to recklessly buy Stigmata and test them through trial and error, or pay for membership in a large organization. One misstep, and they were stuck with no way forward and no retreat, trapped in the middle suffering immensely. And one careless mistake later, it was game over for everyone.

The Yin Soul refined by Raven not only replenished Huai Shi's desperately needed combat strength but also provided him ample room to plan his future path. Whether he continued with the Astronomical Society, jumped ship to the Social Security Office, or even tired of working for others and went solo, he wouldn't find himself at a dead end.

As long as it was a Yin-attributed Stigma, he could connect to it seamlessly.

It's just that this implantation method was unbelievably aggravating...

"Of course, if you get the chance, I still hope you'll continue to advance within the Abyss Genealogy," Raven suggested. "After all, randomly choosing an advancement path would be a terrible waste of your potential."

Huai Shi pretended not to hear. He firmly planned to wait until he had adjusted to the Stigma, then pick a more respectable-sounding advancement path and work hard on it.

The Abyss Genealogy... just the name alone doesn't sound like it belongs to any reputable faction. If it were exposed, he'd likely be hunted by everyone. He would have to do some thorough research later.

However, even though it sounded eerie, it actually felt quite good.

He tried moving his body. Beneath his now pale skin, tendons stretched and unleashed a power beyond his expectations.

After his growth period had ended, he thought his strength had reached its limit. He hadn't expected that after the Stigma implantation, his strength would surge again.

It was like swapping a peashooter for a cannon.

As he moved, his bones rubbed against each other, producing a series of crisp popping sounds.

Huai Shi was ecstatic. "With this realm, am I not far from the Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound?"

"This only proves one thing—"

Raven looked at him with pity. "You slept for too long, and your back is stiff. You should get a better mattress. Although it's true that your physique has advanced."

"..."

Huai Shi was speechless.

"Anyway, congratulations first, Huai Shi, on your successful advancement. This calls for a celebration."

Raven tilted her head, looking at him sincerely as she said, "From the very beginning, humans have craved power. Those with reasons desire power, and even those without reasons still crave it.

"Ultimately, power is like money: one of the essential currencies for survival in this world. So, now that you have power, what do you intend to do with it?"

"What do I intend to do?" Huai Shi was clueless.

"We're talking about life goals, aspirations, that sort of thing," Raven answered. "Although everyone seeks power for different reasons, life after obtaining power is like a game of idiom chain-poems. No matter how you start, it always devolves into a boring repetition of 'doing whatever I want,' 'doing whatever I want,' 'doing whatever I want.'

"So, how do you plan to use this power?"

Huai Shi thought seriously for a moment and tentatively asked, "Would money and beautiful women be okay?"

"Ha!" Raven laughed, heartily patting Huai Shi's shoulder, genuinely admiring him. "You're truly an easy-to-satisfy person."

"Then... ruling the world?"

Raven nodded. "That would require effort."

"Eternal life?"

"Wouldn't that be too exhausting?" Raven said. "Not just the pursuit of immortality itself, but also enduring the long life that comes after. Look at the God Spirits of old. Even with lifespans of only a thousand years, didn't most of them go mad or meet violent ends? Hardly any died peacefully in their beds..."

Throughout it all, Raven didn't seem to object to any of the goals Huai Shi proposed. She didn't even hint that he was dreaming or that such things were impossible.

It was as if the concept of 'impossible' didn't exist at all.

Huai Shi pondered for a long while, then asked softly, "What about living a happy life?"

Raven fell silent.

After a long moment, she sighed with compassion.

"That's difficult," she said. "Huai Shi, that will be very difficult."

More arduous than eternal life, more troublesome than ruling the world, and more luxurious than money and beautiful women—a so-called happy life was, by its very nature, something that existed only in dreams.

"Then I'll give it a try." Huai Shi smiled. "If it's difficult, doesn't that make it all the more worth striving for?"

However, the current priority wasn't any of these.

It was about how to quell the chaos in Xinhai and vent some frustration by killing that bastard Qi Yuan.

Listening to the distant roars and feeling the ominous vibrations that now enveloped the entire city, Huai Shi twisted his neck, swung his arms, then hoisted the Axe onto his shoulder.

"Alright, once I've dealt with Qi Yuan and those lunatics from The Purified People, I'll come back and figure out how to live a happy life." He looked around and asked, "Did you see where that bastard went?"

"I did."

Raven gave him a smile that made him a little uneasy. "How about I give you a ride?"