Apocalypse Forecast

"BLAH BLAH BLAH..."

Huai Shi shook his head and interrupted impatiently, "Although I've watched few movies, I at least know that villains with a bit of class tend to say things like that. But in reality, their new world is a complete mess."

"I know what you're trying to do, but you're destined to fail."

Qi Yuan's head twisted nearly one hundred eighty degrees to face Huai Shi, his expression calm. "You can't stop anything, even if you kill me. The Lord's Metamorphosis has passed the critical moment and can awaken from the embryo of the Mirror World at any time."

"That's someone else's problem to worry about. I actually don't care much."

Huai Shi waved his hand and asked seriously, "I only have one question—you've been colluding with the Savior Association for a while now, haven't you?"

"Not long, Huai Shi, nor short," Qi Yuan said calmly. "Perhaps, you wish to question your faith?"

"What you actually believe in doesn't matter much to me, but the situation is a bit different now."

Huai Shi scratched his head and showed a sincere smile. "Last time you dragged me to play at the gospel class, that old fellow promised to pay me forty bucks. I haven't seen a dime, and I can't even find the man."

As he spoke, he rubbed his fingers together and asked seriously, "So, after all this time, shouldn't you settle the principal and interest with me?"

Although he was smiling, the pupils of his eyes held a steely cold light, devoid of any mirth.

"Don't worry, I don't want much," Huai Shi said. "Your life and your dog's life will suffice."

Qi Yuan didn't speak. Only a hint of crimson emerged in his eyes as he slowly raised a finger, striking an invisible flute note in the air, calling forth the monsters that lurked in darkness.

The message was clear.

"Is that so? Then it's truly regrettable."

Huai Shi sighed, his hands unfolding to summon a thunder-lit Axe and sword, carefully imbuing them with lightning.

"Just as you said, this is not a personal grudge—"

He slowly raised his head, staring at Qi Yuan, who was surrounded by a blood-hued throng, and smirked. "It's merely a wage recovery activity."

The Axe and sword clashed; lightning and sparks erupted amid shrill sounds.

In that instant, the youth shed the guise of humanity, revealing the visage of a fire-dwelling Evil Ghost as the Apocalypse Fog rose!

BANG!

The Thunder Light Axe Blade collided with the blood wrapped around Qi Yuan, emitting the roar of tidal waves.

"If that's all you've got, it's useless," Qi Yuan suddenly sneered. "Fine, let Father keep you company and play properly."

In that instant, the ceiling shattered, and something heavy shrieked its way through.

A foul wind howled behind Huai Shi.

Before he could react, two hands grasped his shoulders. They yanked him up and slammed him onto the floor. Before Huai Shi could recover from the dizziness, a vicious gust of wind struck the back of his head. He instinctively rolled over, only to see a filthy foot stomp where his head had just been. The floor tiles shattered, and flying debris scratched his face.

He froze for a moment, then fiercely kicked his feet. Sliding backward by pushing off the creature's face, he tumbled and scrambled up. He stared at his attacker's face in disbelief.

Qi Wen!

That monstrosity indeed had a face identical to Qi Wen's. However, the rest of it was completely different. It was spider-like, with limbs haphazardly inserted into a torso stitched from corpse pieces. It looked like a lump of mud when still, and like a crazed, head-bearing sludge when it moved.

An abominable sight.

This is taking 'father and son into battle' too far!

"Huai Shi…" Drool dripped from Qi Wen's head as he stared intently at the stunned youth, screaming frantically, "Huai Shi! Huai Shi! Huai Shi!"

It scrambled towards him on all fours!

"Stop calling me so damn familiarly!"

Huai Shi drew his sword to counter, blocking a sweeping spider-like leg. Sparks flew as he stumbled backward.

As Qi Yuan watched the chaotic fight, a hint of a sneer touched his lips.

But before the smile could fully form, the ceiling above him split open again with a straight fissure. From it, a chilling blade of light shot out, pierced through layers of blood, and aimed straight for Qi Yuan's neck.

With the ceiling's destruction, a dreadful Prajna Mask emerged from the darkness, offering Qi Yuan a cold, sinister smile.

A clear female voice rang out.

"—I, Li Jian Amber, shall claim your head!"

In the midst of the battle, Huai Shi turned back in shock, his expression changing instantly.

Damn it, someone's trying to steal my kill!

How many people did this bastard Qi Yuan owe wages to!

***

"Li Jian Amber?"

As he struggled to drag the iron box, Liu DongLi even took a moment to glance at the Social Security Bureau's support roster and was momentarily stunned when he stumbled upon a name from Yingzhou.

"The Li Jian family of the Hua Clan? It's rare to see them at the Social Security Bureau instead of Deer's Sing Hall, isn't it?"

He sighed, retracted his gaze from his wristwatch, and looked up to see a woman sitting on the platform.

She sat as calmly and relaxed as if on her own sofa, nonchalantly wiping blood off her gun. Thick, viscous blood dripped from her skirt, making it impossible to tell if it was hers or someone else's. It was Ai Qing.

He was stunned. His face instinctively showed a trademark professional smile, which then stiffened slightly.

"Uh... long time no see."

Ai Qing raised an eyebrow and glanced at him. "Weren't you always in Xinhai? Mr. Liu DongLi, Astronomical Society Fourth Class Military Officer and Shadow Inspector."

Liu DongLi's smile became even stiffer.

His first thought was that Huai Shi had let something slip. However, her expression wasn't one of annoyance from someone who had been deceived for a long time and suddenly found out. Instead, she was as calm as if she had known from the beginning.

In a way, my job as a 'second fifth' seems like a bit of a failure, doesn't it?

He felt somewhat dejected.

"When did you start suspecting me?"

Ai Qing retorted indifferently, "You should be asking when I ever trusted you."

"Being too wary of others isn't a good thing."

Liu DongLi shook his head and sighed. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and took a couple of heavy drags. "Not everyone is out to get you."

"Most of them are, and that's enough."

Ai Qing calmly put away her weapon and extended her hand towards him. "Got any red tincture? White or yellow would do as well."

"I have them all. Just a moment."

Liu DongLi walked over listlessly. He bent down to check Ai Qing's arms and neck, frowning at her protruding veins. "How did you end up like this? An automatic skeleton? Are you insane? Don't you even know its side effects? If the electrical overload damages your central nervous system, you could be paralyzed for life!"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures."

Ai Qing looked towards the distance and couldn't help but sigh softly. "If I've learned anything recently, it's that I can't always rely on others."

She said, "One must take matters into one's own hands, right?"

Her words seemed to ponder some truth, yet also carried a subtle irony, making Liu DongLi—the one who had shirked his responsibilities to play spy—feel a bit restless.

After a brief examination, he sprayed a white mist onto Ai Qing's wounds. This was the white tincture, an emergency medicine issued by the Astronomical Society for external injuries. It was followed by the yellow tincture for nerve coordination and the red tincture to prevent internal bleeding.

All three had a stimulant effect.

Visibly, Ai Qing's complexion improved considerably.

"We've been thoroughly played," Liu DongLi said, sitting beside her. He listened to the distant roar of battle and remarked softly, "The Social Security Bureau must have been prepared for this long ago, right? The upper echelons in Jinling probably caught wind of it too, yet not a hint leaked out. They clearly view those underlings fighting desperately as less than human."

"The Astronomical Society of today is long past what it used to be. You've been an Inspector for so long; surely you're not still one of those naive sweethearts you only see in anime, are you?"

Liu DongLi shrugged.

The current situation was clear. Who knows how many years ago Dongxia began guarding against anyone coveting Magic City. It seemed a mere information blockade would suffice. However, the reality was a covert vigilance and strict defense that had trapped many unsuspecting individuals.

Regardless of whether The Purified People's grand scheme had any chance of success, Dongxia itself had countless countermeasures hidden away, likely prepared in secret long ago.

Otherwise, how could the Kylin—ranked first in the Dongxia Genealogy and among the top Fifth Stage Sublimators worldwide—have appeared on the battlefield so quickly? According to internal intelligence, it was said they had already clashed fiercely over the East Sea with the Imperial Guard Hunting Legion, the personal forces of the Destructive Element·Ranch Owner.

They even seized an opening to build a direct highway to the Paradise of Bliss, clearly a long-planned blitzkrieg.

By now, both sides were probably engaged in a massive brawl in Hell. It wouldn't be surprising if the Ranch Owner himself decided to intervene this time.

Currently, Kylin·Fu Canlight, ranked first in the Genealogy, held sway over the overall situation. White Emperor's Son·Zhu Qingyu, ranked second, had broken into the Paradise of Bliss. Sky Destiny Xuan Bird, ranked fifth, was sweeping the battlefield, crushing those lunatics lurking in various cities one by one. It wouldn't be surprising if one of them suddenly appeared in Xinhai.

Even if other guardians were needed to defend the borders, Kua Fu, Di Ting, and Bai Ze—whose combat prowess was rumored to be even more formidable than the Kylin's—had yet to act.

They were as steady as an old hound.

After all, they were among the universally acknowledged top three of the world's six major Genealogies. If they were ruthless enough this time, even the Ranch Owner might find himself in a tight spot.

Dongxia Genealogy, Rome Genealogy, Egypt Genealogy, Russian Federation Genealogy, American Genealogy, India Genealogy...

Apart from the Abyss Genealogy, which had fragmented and fallen with the collapse of the former Utopia, the current Astronomical Society Five Constants virtually controlled all six of the world's recognized major Genealogies.

This was the source of the Five Constants' confidence.

The Dongxia Genealogy is a lineage inherited for thousands of years, continuing from several previous epochs to the present. It is considered long-lasting and flourishing, with numerous internal branches, and can even directly represent the nation.

Originating from the first dynasty of the primal epoch, the Egypt Genealogy has perpetuated its lineage through blood. It even directly rules the Two River Basin under the names of God Spirit incarnations, the patriarch, and the son of the God Spirit.

The Rome Genealogy and the Russian Federation Genealogy were products of the Stigma Genealogy—a behemoth that once controlled the entire West—after its split.

One branch took control of many Sublimation paths. It was based on the former Rome Genealogy and integrated the miracles of the Greek states, becoming today's Rome Genealogy. The other branch revered a void God and established the Orthodox Genealogy. It was further supplemented with various Mythological Source Texts, forming today's Russian Federation Genealogy.

The widely branching India Genealogy originally had the potential to break into the top three, even vying for first place. However, due to the lack of a strong leader to suppress internal divisions, it fractured into three.

For four hundred years, the Destructive Genealogy, Creatory Genealogy, and Maintaining Genealogy have been mired in ceaseless infighting and protracted civil war. Consequently, they have become the weakest among the six major Genealogies.

The American Genealogy, on the other hand, is the New Generation Stigmata Genealogy. It was formed after wandering outsiders and border creatures united with the Inca Genealogy. It is the most recent and weakest of the genealogies. Without the support of a living God Spirit, it would find it difficult to maintain its independence.

As for the Abyss Genealogy, once known as the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy, it has long since declined.