Apocalypse Forecast

"Wait a minute!"

Huai Shi subconsciously raised his hand in objection, only to see Raven toss a fully-packed travel bag his way. "Take this. Use it on the road."

"What is this?"

He caught it reflexively, not paying much attention at that moment.

The next instant, Huai Shi's footing gave way.

A large hole appeared beneath his feet, and amidst his screams, he plunged into darkness.

Silence descended once more upon the Special Affairs Department.

Such a pity, they really didn't leave any survivors...

Raven spread her wings, gliding over the chaotic mess of the dungeon, up the staircase, across the silent hall strewn with debris, and landed on the rooftop of the Special Affairs Department, gazing up at the dark smoke pillars unseen by ordinary eyes.

From a skyward view, beneath layers of disguise and surging power hidden in the darkness, everything revealed its true form within Raven's crimson eyes.

Like the vast shadow of a great bird, it spread slowly like a tide, covering the entire city.

Nine gruesome heads, each facing a different direction, devoured the sacrifices and offerings from various parts of the city, as if returning to an egg.

Lurking in the darkness, nurturing a transformation from Hell.

Nine Phoenix, huh? How amusing.

She chuckled softly. Should I say they're determined or brainless? But in the end, it will all be for naught.

No one responded. The stage was set, the curtain raised. The real drama was about to unfold.

But this time, who will be the protagonist?

.

.

Huai Shi felt himself falling through darkness.

The wind howled past. After what seemed an eternity, he finally landed on his backside. Before he could even get up, he felt a strong gust of wind on his face, and a heavy Iron Whip hovered before him.

It was inches away, and Huai Shi's hair stood on end.

"Who's there!"

Following the Iron Whip with his eyes, Huai Shi saw a burly man standing before him. His left arm was amputated at the shoulder, his face pale, yet his eyes, bloodshot and blazing, seemed to burn with fire.

"Mister, don't shoot, it's me..."

Huai Shi instinctively raised his hands, then, realizing halfway through that what he was saying wasn't right, hastily corrected himself, "Friendly! We're friendlies!"

The bearded man looked at him coldly, the Iron Whip hovering motionless before him, as if the slightest stir would mean his death.

The bone-chilling killing intent emanating from the man was palpable.

One look at the grotesque, mangled corpses behind the large man made it clear this murderous intent was real.

Even from a few inches away, the Iron Whip exerted a tangible pressure on Huai Shi's shoulders, its weight almost paralyzing him as sweat soaked his back.

"This, I can explain..."

"Astronomical Society?" the large man asked first.

Huai Shi was taken aback. "Uh, yes. How did you know?"

The large man glanced at the travel bag that had fallen before Huai Shi. On the zipper, someone had thoughtfully clipped his Astronomical Society work card.

Name, age, headshot... his identity clearly stated, as if on a matchmaking profile, to prevent friendly fire.

Just too damn thoughtful.

If only the method of descent could have been a bit more graceful!

"Huai Shi, right?" He scrutinized the harmless, innocent face of the youth before him, his expression growing increasingly displeased. "You're the local Sublimator mentioned in the report. I know you."

"Uh..." Huai Shi wasn't sure if this was good news or bad. "And you are?"

"Social Security Bureau Special Operations Department. Third Stage, Jin Mu."

After finally confirming Huai Shi's identity, he slowly withdrew the Iron Whip and flicked a metal insignia from his trouser pocket towards Huai Shi. The insignia bore the unmistakable alchemical imprint of Jin Mu's Source Fluctuation and his military rank.

Having been trained by Ai Qing, Huai Shi knew how to verify its authenticity. After confirming it was genuine, he promptly returned it with both hands, saying, "My apologies for the disrespect."

"Come with me."

Clearly not fond of Huai Shi, he snatched back the insignia, hoisted the Iron Whip with his one arm, and took the lead again. "Just don't lag behind."

Only then did Huai Shi have a chance to observe his surroundings.

They appeared to be underground in a massive tunnel, with signs of excavation all around. The flickering dim light from the overhead bulbs revealed traces of a fierce battle.

As Huai Shi took a step, his foot hit a snapped railway track.

Railway?

Huai Shi paused for a moment, then a thought struck him: Subway?

Considering the scene, he could almost be certain of his location.

No, on second thought, if The Purified People were really up to something, wouldn't this subway line in Xinhai, unfinished after years of digging, be the most convenient place for them?

He carried the bag in one hand and the instructions from Raven in the other, following Jin Mu. "Where are we going?"

Jin Mu walked ahead, saying without turning his head, "To find my partner, Shen Yue, and your superior."

"Ai Qing?" Huai Shi was astonished.

Jin Mu said, "Before I was pulled down, I saw him grab that Inspector. They should have landed together."

"Oh."

Huai Shi nodded. Using the dim light, he quickly looked down and continued to flip through the manual in his hands, nodding from time to time and clicking his tongue in amazement.

Finally, Jin Mu turned his head, frowning. "What are you looking at?"

"A manual." Huai Shi closed the manual, of which he had read less than half, and tucked it into his clothes. "I've been looking at it for ages, and I think I get some of it. Next time, I need her to prepare a dummy-proof version for me. There's just too much technical jargon."

He put down his travel bag and took a deep breath.

"Wait for me a second, I'll try—"

With that, he assumed a horse stance, clenched his fists, and with a grunt, mustered all his strength. His face turned red with effort, but no matter how one looked at it, he just seemed constipated, leaving Jin Mu puzzled.

A long, awkward silence ensued.

"Sorry, not in the best shape," Huai Shi coughed awkwardly. "Let's continue."

Jin Mu looked at him indifferently for a long moment, then averted his gaze and turned to walk forward. But just as he took a step, his arm, as if boneless, lashed out with the Iron Whip behind him.

It parried the Axe that had chopped down at him from behind.

He slowly turned his head, staring at the slightly surprised youth, his expression dark.

"Are you insane?"

"You have to believe me, this is a misunderstanding." Huai Shi looked at the Axe in his hand and took an awkward step back. "I was actually planning to kill you painlessly, but since you found out, there's nothing I can do."

He grinned, twisting his neck to stretch the stiff muscles from his long confinement. Accompanied by a series of soft crackling sounds, wisps of gray flame slowly emerged from beneath the clothes on his chest, igniting his skin inch by inch.

Soon, his entire body, except for the pale Source of fire in his hands, was enveloped in a gray, gloomy flame. Within that dancing fire, everything seemed to blur, distinguishing between reality and phantom became impossible, as if it were all faintly Melting into the darkness.

And right there on his chest, the whirlpool-like fissure slowly rotated, like a furnace in the deepest part of Hell.

Glowing brightly. Stigmata·Yin Ghost activated.

"Although I'm grateful you told me so much, this is where it ends..." Within the embrace of flames, the youth, now resembling an Evil Ghost, revealed a smile. "So, do you want me to stab you to death and then examine the body, or will you obediently take off that fake face and let me see your true one?"

"To think... I was discovered...?"

In that instant, a hint of stiffness touched Jin Mu's grim expression. His lips slowly curled up, revealing an almost exaggeratedly unnatural smile that stretched nearly to his ears.

Then, a thick black liquid began to ooze from his wide-open mouth, emitting a foul stench. The liquid seethed and roiled, making a viscous sound.

"Where... did I... go wrong...?"

"To tell you the truth, when the Stigmata Activation began, I thought there was something wrong with my eyes." Huai Shi shouldered the Axe and pointed to his own eyes, which had turned from black to iron-gray. Their reflection showed the figure before him utterly disintegrated, displaying traces of decay. Dark purple-black liquids coursed within its corpse-like shell, revealing its true nature.

This was what Huai Shi saw the instant the Stigmata Activation occurred.

Luckily, the manual was sufficiently detailed.

Even so, Huai Shi found it hard to believe that Border Variants existed who could even disguise their Source Fluctuations. Now, it seemed they could even acquire parts of memories, which was truly shocking.

"A pity. It's too smelly," Huai Shi murmured softly. "If you had led me somewhere else, I might not have doubted you."

He sniffed the air as the foul stench grew stronger, a nauseating mix of rot and blood.

"Anyway, this... is far enough..."

The thing disguised as Jin Mu twisted its neck nearly one hundred eighty degrees, looking back in the direction they had originally been heading. In the darkness, pairs of blood-red eyes slowly lit up. Soon, one deformed creature after another crawled out from the shadows.

Some of them looked human but had deformed skeletons and were completely hairless. Others resembled wild dogs and cats, but their bodies were astonishingly large, like lions. There was also a swarm of rat-like creatures.

At the howl of the thing disguised as Jin Mu, the dozen or so misshapen, corrupted creatures slowly advanced. Some crawled directly on the tunnel ceiling, dripping foul saliva that landed near Huai Shi's feet.

"One last question."

Huai Shi awkwardly looked at the encircling monsters, raising a finger. "Do you Border Variants have a habit of seeing a psychologist?"

No one responded. Amidst the screeching of the corrupted Jin Mu, the grotesque creatures closed in, an overwhelming stench filling the air.

Apparently not, he thought.

What a shame.

But for Huai Shi, it seemed just right.

He could try out this Stigmata Talent, a Five-star Ability highly recommended by Raven in the manual. Its name seemed to be...

In that instant, as Huai Shi spread his arms, the Fire of Apocalypse covering him suddenly erupted outwards in all directions, transforming into a diffuse, yet conspicuous, rust-colored mist!

Within the mist's embrace, boundless terror instantly flared, invading the consciousness of every thinking being. It blended the pain, Sorrow, and horror extracted from countless deaths into a singular onslaught, erupting violently from the deepest recesses of their minds.

Shrieks of terror erupted. In that instant, from within the rust-colored mist, a pair of fiery eyes slowly rose, the corners of their owner's mouth curling into a smile.

This was the core talent of the Stigmata Yin Soul, with a three-meter radius...

"—Fear Aura!"